Transcript for Sparkling Clean[]
(Close-up on Becky wearing a pink wig.)
Narrator: Becky Botsford is one excited girl. Why? Well, I think it's because--
(The screen zooms out to show that Becky and Bob are on the couch, wearing Pretty Princess and Magic Pony Power Hour costumes and surrounded by paraphernalia from the show. Becky hushes the narrator.)
Becky: The Pretty Princess Magic Pony Power Hour marathon starts in twelve minutes! I need absolute silence.
Narrator: (whispering) Sorry.
Becky: Here we go, Bob. This is gonna be the best day ever!
Mrs. Botsford: Bup bup bup! Becky, no TV until you finish your chores, remember?
Becky: But mom! The Pretty Princess Power Hour marathon only comes around once in a lifetime! Or maybe it's once a year. Okay, four times a year. But still!
Mrs. Botsford: Bup bup bup bup! You can't shirk your responsibilities. Chores first, and that's final.
Becky: But I just--
Mrs. Botsford: Bup bup!
Becky: Can't I--
Mrs. Botsford: Bup bup!
Becky: (groans in frustration) What are my chores again?
(The three walk to the kitchen. There are two massive piles of dishes in front of the sink.)
Mrs. Botsford: You and Violet made a real mess this morning baking cupcakes, so you have to wash these dishes before they start attracting flies. (chases away a fly)
Becky: Ugh! Mom, do I really have to?
Mrs. Botsford: (pats her head) Bup bup bup! Becky, don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today! (laughs) Hm, what a neat little expression I just made up.
Becky: Uh, actually I think Benjamin Franklin made it up.
Mrs. Botsford: Oh! (laughs) Well, I guess great minds think alike!
(Scene: The garden. Mr. Botsford is pulling weeds as Becky and Mrs. Botsford walk up to him.)
Mrs. Botsford: Your father needs help pulling weeds out of this herb garden before they become unruly and stop the good plants from growing!
(Mr. Botsford grunts and pulls a dandelion out of the ground.)
Mr. Botsford: One down, 2999 to go. Phew! You're gonna love helping me with this, sweetie.
(Scene: The laundry room.)
Mrs: Botsford: And finally... (The camera zooms out to show a massive pile of clothes.) ...take care of this mountain of laundry. Whew! (laughs)
Becky: Aww! But mom, can't I just--
Mrs. Botsford: Becky...
Becky: I know, bup bup bup...
Mrs. Botsford: Exactly!
(Scene: The kitchen. Becky approaches the sink.)
Narrator: Later, in the kitchen...
Becky: Look, Bob, we have five minutes before the marathon starts, but we will get these chores done, even if it means a little help from my superpowers...
(She flies up, and there is a flash.)
Becky: And they're... (The camera zooms out to show that the pile of dishes has only barely shrunk.) still dirty? Ugh! I don't think we can get these done in time. (Bob squeaks a suggestion.) Hmm... Scrub each pan carefully until they're clean and miss the first episode of the marathon...? It's an interesting idea, not a bad plan... Or I could just do this!
(There is a flash again, and Becky is revealed to have hid all the dishes in the kitchen cabinets.)
Becky: No more dishes! (Bob squeaks and points at the kitchen cabinet.) No, no, no, no! You've got it all wrong, I'm not shirking my chores! I'll take care of these dishes just as soon as the PPMP marathon is done! Now onto the next task!
(Scene: The garden. Becky and Bob are pulling weeds with Mr. Botsford.)
Mr. Botsford: Isn't this great? The three of us working out here, all together!
Becky: Yep! Lots of work! (looks at a wheelbarrow filled with soil in the background) Hmm...
Mr. Botsford: They say Moroccan mint grows best in dappled sun. That's why I'm over here, dappling.
Becky: (grabs the wheelbarrow while his back is turned) Tell me more about dappled sun! Talk, talk, talk away!
(Becky flies into the air with the wheelbarrow. While Mr. Botsford is talking, she drops piles of soil all over the garden.)
Mr. Botsford: Well, direct sun is too much for this little guy, but total shade is a real no-no. Making dappled light is a lost art, Beckster. (adjusts the plant's leaves) You have to find just the right... Hah! Done it! (The gust of air from Becky landing blows all the leaves away.) Oh, there comes the wind...
Becky: Wow, look at that! No more weeds! Huh, what do you know! Okay, onto chore number three, bye! (flies away with Bob)
Mr. Botsford: Wow! Thanks, Beck-- (notices that she is gone) Becky? Becky...?
(Scene: The laundry room. Becky looks at the pile of laundry.)
Becky: Okay, this is just... Ugh. Hmm... This'll buy us some time, though!
(She grabs the pile of laundry, flies off with it, drops it on the moon, and returns.)
Becky: See! (pants) Nothing to it! I'm all done with the chores!
(Bob squeaks a complaint and slaps his forehead. Becky and Bob, back in their costumes, zoom back to the couch.)
Becky: Just in time... Huh. I've actually seen this episode. Well, that just means I'll catch all the stuff I missed the first time around! (Bob complains again.) I am not shirking my responsibilities, Bob. I promise we'll do all the chores the right way later. (Bob squeaks.) Bup bup bup! Huh. That's fun, actually. Now if you'll excuse me, marathon happening! (yawns and stretches) Man, pretending to finish your chores is almost as exhausting as really doing them. But this is... nice, I... (yawns) just want to lie here and bask in the blissful glow of Sparkletopia... (falling asleep) Sparkletopia... Sparkletopia...
(Becky starts to dream. In her dream, she is wearing her WordGirl outfit, and Bob his Captain Huggy Face outfit. Someone taps her on the nose. She looks up and gasps, seeing Pretty Princess and Magic Pony looking down at her.)
WordGirl: Oh... my... gosh! Pretty Princess?! What is happening right now?! (squeals in delight) (to Pretty Princess) Can I please have your autograph? Make it out to "my friend WordGirl". No, actually, better make it to "my good friend WordGirl". You know what, let's just say "my best friend WordGirl", because--
Pretty Princess: WordGirl! Thank goodness you're here to help us!
WordGirl: Help you? Uh, yeah, I came as soon as I heard... about... the thing... Um, why am I here again?
Pretty Princess: Oh, it's just terribly awful! It's awfully terrible!
Magic Pony: She's being a bit dramatic, but yes. Things are not great.
Pretty Princess: Oh, WordGirl, WordGirl, WordGirl!
WordGirl: What, what, what?
Pretty Princess: Sparkletopia... (The camera zooms out to show that the landscape behind her is dark and dreary.) has lost its sparkle!
WordGirl: (gasps) Noooooo!
Magic Pony: It's true. We need our sparkle.
WordGirl: Tell me exactly what's going on.
(Pretty Princess leads the group through the city. Everything is withered, and there is yellow goo all over. The Storyteller plays his lute sadly.)
Pretty Princess: You see, last week was the Parade of Smiles, where we--
WordGirl: --celebrate the anniversary of the first caramel harvest by flooding the streets with liquid butterscotch?! Yeah, I've heard of it.
Magic Pony: Wow, a real superfan over here.
WordGirl: (laughs) Thank you.
Pretty Princess: The problem is, after all the unruly behavior, everyone shirked their responsibility to help clean up. And now, the city is dirty and sticky and dangerous!
(A man halfway submerged in butterscotch splashes around helplessly.)
Man: Oh no! Someone please help me! (smacks his lips) Wow, that's good!
WordGirl: Uh-oh. Hmm... Be right back!
Man: Take your time! (sinks further into the butterscotch) But hurry.
(WordGirl grabs a tree shaped like a sponge and dips it in a lake. She starts scrubbing furiously, cleaning the town. The townspeople cheer.)
WordGirl: There you go! And while we're at it... (cleans the butterscotch off the previously submerged man with her cape)
Pretty Princess: Oh, thank you so much, WordGirl! If everyone would have cleaned up earlier, we wouldn't have had this problem at all! That's why I always say, "Don't put off until sparklemorrow what can be done sparkleday!"
WordGirl: That's so wise! Wait, have I heard that somewhere? Eh, probably not.
Pretty Princess: And now you can help us with our next problem.
WordGirl: (gasps) I get to keep helping you?! Yes! Dream come true!
(The group heads to a forest.)
WordGirl: The Wondertown Forest... Cool!
Pretty Princess: Not cool, WordGirl! Because Count Cloudy has planted wild weeds all over these Wondertown woods!
WordGirl: Weeds, huh...? Why does that sound familiar...? (Captain Huggy Face squeaks.)
Magic Pony: They block out the sun and make it hard for other plants to grow, which is bad for the Wondertown elves who live here. (A sad family of elves is shown.)
Gigantic Weed 1: Hoo-whee! Gimme sun!
Gigantic Weed 2: Yeah, feed me that sun too, yum yum yum!
All Weeds: Yum yum yum! Yum yum yum!
Magic Pony: Plus, they're just annoying.
Pretty Princess: We let the wild weeds grow so long that they've become unruly!
WordGirl: Yeah, they definitely seem unruly... Um, I don't know if you know this, but vocabulary is kind of my thing, so I know that unruly means out of control. When things or people are unruly, that means it's not easy to get them to do what you want, like these weeds.
Pretty Princess: Yes, right.
Magic Pony: So, are you gonna ignore the weeds?
Pretty Princess: Oh, won't you pretty pretty please with butterscotch topping help us, WordGirl?
WordGirl: You know you don't have to ask me twice! (laughs) Word up!
(WordGirl flies up and rapidly pulls the weeds out of the ground. She drops them all off at Count Cloudy's home, to his annoyance. The elves cheer her name.)
Pretty Princess: Oh, thank you once again, WordGirl!
WordGirl: No problem!
Pretty Princess: Uh, there's still one more problem you can help us with.
WordGirl: Oh! Sure! Why not? I mean, isn't it great? The four of us, working out here all together?
Pretty Princess: Just around this corner is your final chore, WordGirl.
WordGirl: Chore?
Pretty Princess: I mean, um... fun adventure!
WordGirl: Right! Can't wait!
(WordGirl enters the royal palace and is disheartened when she sees a large pile of laundry.)
Magic Pony: (waves his hoof in front of his face) Whoof!
WordGirl: A... giant pile of laundry, eh?
Pretty Princess: We don't know how it got here! Or even whose laundry it is! We just know that it's starting to stink and needs to be taken care of!
WordGirl: Um... Yeah, that's crazy. Who would just... shirk their chores and leave laundry lying around like this? So irresponsible, right?
Magic Pony: Excuse me, but what is that word, shirk? I love to say it. Shirk. Shirk, shirk, shirk, shirk. (chuckles) I could say it all day, really. (puts his hoof to WordGirl's chest) Shirk. But what does it mean?
WordGirl: Shirk means to avoid doing something that you're supposed to do. (sighs sadly) Like putting off something until sparklemorrow instead of just doing it sparkleday. I mean today. (Captain Huggy Face squeaks proudly at her. WordGirl sighs) I know, Huggy. You're right. I shirked my chores at home, I totally shirked! But how could my laundry end up here?
(Suddenly, the Wondertown elves surround her.)
Elves: You're dreaming!
WordGirl: Oh... Am I dreaming?
(Wide shot of all the magical inhabitants of Sparkletopia.)
Magic Pony: Eh, it's possible.
WordGirl: Oh... Well, it was fun while it lasted. Guess we'd better wake up now. (starts flying upwards)
Pretty Princess: I understand. And anyway, Becky, I'm all done dappling!
WordGirl: That's-- Wait, what? How'd you know my real name is Becky?
Pretty Princess: I'm all done dappling!
(Pretty Princess's voice echoes and she turns into Mr. Botsford.)
Mr. Botsford: I'm all done dappling!
Becky: (rubs her eyes) You're not a pretty princess...
Mr. Botsford: Nope, just the handsome king of Botsford castle! Anyway, back to the herb garden. Next plant to plant: Thai basil. (reading off the seed bag) "Needs direct sunlight." Well, that's no fun... (walks off)
Becky: (sighs) (to Bob) I know I told you in the dream, but I'll say it in real life too. You were right. (Bob chatters in appreciation.) So will you please help me make things right? (Bob squeaks in agreement.)
(Montage of Becky and Bob doing the chores. Once they're done, they zoom back to the couch. Becky sighs in relief.)
Becky: Now it feels like we really earned some quality time with the Pretty Princess. (Bob chatters, and Becky hushes him.) It's starting! (yawns) Still kinda tired. Think I'll just... close the ol' eyelids and bask in the blissful glow of... (She falls asleep. After a few moments, she starts talking in her sleep.) Pretty Princess, the place looks so clean... I love what you've done with the sparkle...
Narrator: And so, we see that even if she did shirk some of her chores, our hero WordGirl never falls asleep on the job. Even if that job happens while she's asleep. I mean, that is to say... (Bob hushes him.) (whispering) Sorry. Join us next time for another amazing, explosive, unruly episode of WordGirl! (In Becky's dream, WordGirl and Captain Huggy Face are riding into the sky on Magic Pony. Captain Huggy Face hushes the narrator again.) (whispering) Sorry. WordGirl!